DEMBARE PREPS SAIL SMOOTHLY

Tadious Manyepo

Sports Reporter

EVERYTHING is looking positive for Dynamos who are fine-tuning for the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup second preliminary round tie against Orapa United at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown on Sunday.

The Glamour Boys who were the away team last weekend have remained holed up in Francistown to host the perennial Botswana campaigners at the same venue on Sunday as they currently do not have a CAF-approved stadium to stage their home matches.

Confidence is also high in the Harare giants camp as they carry a slight advantage over their opponents going into this fixture having won the reverse game 1-0 at the same venue last Sunday.

In the week that they have also been adjusting to the searing heat in Francistown, DeMbare have been further buoyed by the return to fitness of two of their key players.

Chief striker Sadney Urikhob whos has not played a single match since featuring in Dynamos’ 1-0 win over Zambian outfit ZESCO United in the Confederation Cup first preliminary round, first leg at the National Stadium in Gaborone more than a month ago.

On the other hand, star winger Issah Sadiki has also been in the treatment room for the past three weeks.

But both players have been training with the rest of the squad since Tuesday with coach Lloyd “MaBlanyo” Chigowe expressing optimism over DeMbare’s prospects.

Roving winger Valentine Kadonzvo, who scored the winner last Sunday has been back home writing his tertiary examinations and he is expected to rush back to Francistown this morning.

“The boys are raring to compete, the mood is great. Kadonzvo is writing exams and will rejoin the team on Thursday (today),” said Chigowe.

“We need to be well-organised and have game intelligence to progress.

“Urikhob had a full training session as well as Issa Sadiki”.

Dynamos are hoping to either complete a double on Orapa United or restrict them to a draw to march onto the group stage.

A minimum US$400 000 carrot is also dangling before DeMbare should they clear the Orapa United hurdle on Sunday.

This has been an additional motivation for the players not least Kadonzvo who is also eager to lead the Glamour Boys to victory once again.

“I am very happy to have managed to score on my return to continental football,” said Kadonzvo.

“I am writing examinations but part of my mind is in Botswana.

“We will be out there to try and get the ticket to the next stage of the tournament.

“We know the match will be very difficult for us because the opponents will try to come at us looking for the goals.

“But everyone knows exactly what to expect and how to play. The boys are in high spirits and looking to win the match.

“We do not doubt that we will pull through but we need to be extra attentive”.

Chigowe noted that Orapa United prefer to play possession-based football but the seasoned coach has been bullish since last Sunday’s first leg and has a trick or two up his sleeve to finish off their opponents.

And Namibian Urikhob gives the coach more options in attack given his grit.

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